While parents of young children in The Heights must have been happy with yesterday’s announcement of plans to build a new annex to PS 8, we doubt their grins matched those over at Two Trees headquarters in Dumbo yesterday. According to a tipster, during the Q&A portion of the PS 8 press conference, Department of Education officials gave the most encouraging words yet about the potential for a new public middle school in the proposed Dock Street development. According to the email we received, “Officials responded by saying that they recognize a need, have looked at a number of options and the thinking at this time is to examine placing a Middle School into the Two Trees Dock Street project.” After withdrawing its first set of plans for the site in the face of public criticism over the size and proximity of the building to the Brooklyn Bridge in 2004, Two Trees floated a revised proposal last year for a 400-unit LEED-certified building with 20% affordable housing and space for a public middle school. There’s still plenty of opposition to the project (including Councilmember David Yassky), but this public declaration by DOE has to be seen as a big step for Dock Street. “We are very pleased that the Department of Education and the School Construction Authority are interested in locating a much-needed middle school in our Dock Street building,” Two Trees’ Jed Walentas told us. “Our goal from day one was to have this be a public middle school and it looks like we are a step closer to that reality.” The project is far from a done deal, though, as it still needs to go through the ULURP process. You can check out a rendering of the project here.
Two Trees Plans Mixed Use Building Next to Bridge [Brownstoner] GMAP
Dock Street Plans (Marina and All) Go 3D [Brownstoner]
Dock Street Protesters: 20% There on Signatures [Brownstoner]